Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterOct 20, 2024, 09:47 PM ET
CloseCovered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
Joined ESPN in 2013
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Patrick Mahomes’ stat line in Sunday’s game and through an unusual first six games has looked like that of a journeyman quarterback and not a two-time MVP.
Mahomes, with two interceptions and no touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers, has eight picks and six TDs this season. But the Kansas City Chiefs remain undefeated at 6-0 after beating the 49ers 28-18 and Mahomes said that’s a testament to the team built around him.
“I just don’t think it’s normal for what you’ve seen from us because it’s not a lot of passing touchdowns,” Mahomes said. “There’s been a lot of turnovers, especially by me. I think it’s just showing the versatility of our team.
“It’s not just about me. It’s not just about the stats and the light show and stuff like that. It’s about playing team football and I believe that if we continue to work we’ll get better offensively throwing the ball down the field.”
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The Chiefs beat the 49ers with a defense that intercepted 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy three times, a punt return unit that launched receiver Mecole Hardman 55 yards to set up a touchdown and a running game that provided 184 yards.
Mahomes threw for 154 yards, was sacked twice and threw the two interceptions. He said he felt those interceptions were different than many early in the season because he made good decisions but got unlucky. One of the interceptions was deflected by a defender. The other came when rookie receiver Xavier Worthy was tripped and fell on a route.
“I’ve got to still clean it up,” he said. “There’s too many interceptions that put our defense in bad spots. In order for us to even take another step, it’s going to be about me taking care of the football, scoring those touchdowns in the red zone like we did today and then letting our defense really eat.”
The game featured some pushing, shoving and physical play. Mahomes got hit in the throat on one play by defensive lineman Maliek Collins, though he said he didn’t think it was intentional. He later lowered his shoulder into safety Malik Mustapha and knocked him down while scoring a touchdown, though he said he didn’t mean to do that, either.
He said it was more a case of his “dad bod” doing the work.
“It wasn’t like I was necessarily trying to seek out contact,” he said. “I was trying to absorb it and get in the end zone and it just ended up looking good for me.”
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